COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONWe’ve been loving creating Collaboration beers with great creative brewers from all over the world these last several years-unique beers that would never have existed without the free-flowing imagination and idea generation of the collaborative process. However, when it comes to the Stone Anniversary Ales, it’s all us. Yet, it is indeed still a collaboration with great creative brewers (if we do say so ourselves). We’re talking about our own brewing team, of course. And while some of our beers, anniversary and otherwise, have been designed by a single person, the Stone 16th Anniversary IPA was definitely a team effort.

This year our brewing team was inspired by some exotic-ish additions of the lemony persuasion. Yes, it’s a Double IPA (can you really say you’re surprised?), but as we strive to do with all our Stone Anniversary Ales of the let’s-take-this-IPA-in-a-new-direction variety, we’ve brewed up a Stone-worthy divergence from tradition. The amount of rye malt we used isn’t quite enough to warrant the appellation "Rye IPA," but it still adds hints of spiciness that contrast deliciously with the tropical fruit flavors and aromas of the Amarillo and Calypso hops. Add a few European specialty malts, some lemon verbena, and three more hop varieties to the mix, and you have a highly complex brew melding both bitter and fruity hop notes with rich toasted malt character punctuated by nuances of spicy rye and subtle lemon.

UPDATED: DEC 30, 2012 2012-08-16. Crisp golden body with a nice white head. 3+ Flavour is an interesting melange of tastes, an interesting fruit character that is sort of citrusy and a bit melony? Fair bit of bitterness with interesting spice notes. Dry alcohol in the finish is noticeable but not as much as it could be for the abv. 7+ Fruity hoppy aroma with a lightly spicy accent to it is pleasant but a bit strange. Average plus to medium palate. 3+ Melon like fruit grows as it warms. I like it but find it a bit perplexing. 7/4/7/3/16 3.7 On tap at Blue Monk, Buffalo

Pours amberish yellow with white head and no lacing I really like the aroma. Strong citrus hops and some rye with spices. Taste is hoppy with strong citrus flavor, some spices and a touch of carmel for good balance. The beer disguises the high alcohol content. Very nice.

Pours a golden copper-yellow, with mid-sized head. Aroma is very strong--almost like a lemon air freshener. Flavor is dominated by the lemon verbena (they say "subtle lemon," but it’s hardly that), but there is a nice combination of hop bitterness and rye underneath it all. It’s another typical, outstanding double IPA concoction from Stone. Definitely worth a try.

Draft to pint at Dutch’s. Looks solid; a completely transparent copper with sticky off-white lacing. Smells solid; bitter hops. Tastes BITTER! It’s good, but DAMN! You can definitely pick up the rye in this. Average on the palate. Good beer.

Appearance: Pours an amber orange with a retaining thin cap of white. Leaves behind great lacing.
Aroma: Huge grapefruit and wet wood. Pine and mellon rind.
Taste: Grapefruit, ginger, earthy spicy bitterness. Finishes dry and hoppy, maybe a touch astringent too.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, average carbonation.
Overall: This beer is very unique to all the other IPAs Stone has released over the years. Still need to get to know this beer better.

Bomber. Pours dark amber with thick off-white head. Aroma is hops and pinesol? Flavor is a little bit spicy and a little too lemony. Light to medium body with medium mold carbonation. Slight bitter finish. I liked it when I started drinking it but hated it the more I drank.

Draft into a snifter at San Diego Brewing Co. on Aug. 17, 2012 (for $4.75), in San Diego. Poured a caramel, toffee with 1-2 fingers (when I got it) of whiteish, khaki head. Good and consistent retention all around on the way down.
Smelled citrus hops (grapefruit?), bitter and strong. Woody, pine (pine sap?) and lemon. Some floral notes as well. Bitter dominates here.
Tasted sharp bitterness up front. Citrus (lemon and grapefruit) and pine. A bit of rye spices, wood and lemon grass.
Medium body. Oily, slick texture. Average carbonation. Long, bitter finish.
Was excited to try this beer and wasn’t disappointed. My slight cold may have hurt or helped this rating as well. Would love to try it again (and see if my ratings would change). Surprised at the lower rating by the fellow Beer Advocaters.

22 ounce bottle from Nugget in Davis. The aroma has a lot of lemony citrus character present. Becomes a little herbal with wafts of vegetal character, too. Light underlying sweetness. Mostly spicy lemon, though. Transparent copper body with a creamy, fluffy off-white head present. Starts quite sweet, sugary, and citrussy with more lemon character. Maintains its sweet, borderlying cloying back-bone in the middle, with some herbal and spicy character. Finishes with a bit of an ethanolic warming sensation and late earthy hop bitterness. Interesting blend of flavors, but the sweet, sugary, cloying maltiness is just too much.

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